Excerpt from William Stoichevski article published in Salmon Business. Link to original article here.

Electric Aquaculture Vessels Could Hit Canadian Waters Soon

Electrification of the growing fleet of aquaculture workboats is now underway. Last year the world’s first battery-powered work boat for fish farming was launched with enormous success. The fully electric Elfrida has been operating in the coastal waters of Norway since February 2017.

The vessel, which is powered by 156kWh of PBES Power batteries, provides up to 12 knots speed and a full eight-hour shift per charge. Not only does the system eliminate emissions, the fact there is no noise, vibration or diesel fumes provides greater crew comfort, less fatigue and leads to safer working conditions onboard. Best of all, the vessel requires no diesel fuel, dramatically reducing operating costs.

The Technology Shift Coming to Canada

Stavanger-based Blueday Technology has recently won a contract to deliver the same emissions-cutting technology to the fish-farming operations of Grieg Seafood.

Blueday, formerly Halvorsen Power Systems, integrates batteries into a vessel’s onboard power and propulstion system, while traditionally also providing stationary power generators. Its new SMART Hybrid Power solutions of integrated wind, solar and battery power will, it is understood, replace diesel generators and other aquaculture-related power producers at Grieg’s remote grow-outs like those in British Columbia, Canada.

No More Diesel Leaks in Sensitive Waters

Fish-farmers operating in B.C. have come under harsh criticism for repeat diesel leaks, although diesel generators remain the “preferred” power solution all along the Pacific Northwest, right up through Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. If Blueday can keep costs down, that Pacific preference might change.

Blueday Technology, like onboard power integrators Siemens and ABB, are understood to use the battery technology of Canadian/Norwegian-based PBES Norway, founded by B.C. entrepreneur, Brent Perry. Both Blueday, which offers battery “choice”, and PBES have been along in the conversion of a growing number of Norwegian vessels — from ferries to fishing vessels — to hybrid and fully electric energy conversion.

Battery/electric propulsion systems for ships can provide propulsion and house power for the full route as well as the working day aboard the vessel. This saves not only fuel but also operating costs, because an electric motor requires maintenance much less often than a diesel engine. Furthermore, work on an electric boat is eco-friendly for workers because of the absence of the exhaust gases, vibrations, and noise produced by a diesel engine.

Grieg’s use of Blueday’s solution in Canada could be timed to perfection, as the Canadian government has just allotted millions of dollars for small and medium-sized fish farmers to get “greener” by investing in more energy-efficient designs of all sorts. The Blueday communique wasn’t clear on the configuration of the “green power” solution in their Grieg contract, but stationary power for Grieg sites in Canada is implied here. Grieg Seafood will now be greening fish farming assets and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Heggebo was quoted as saying.

Ulsteinvik, Norway – ABB will optimize the safety and environmental credentials of a new Louis Dreyfus Armateurs wind farm Service Operation Vessel (SOV) by installing Onboard DC Grid power distribution to enable the cost-efficient integration of batteries. As an integral part of the power system, the Power and Energy Management System (PEMS) will ensure safe and efficient operation of the vessel. The hybrid system enables lean operation with fewer running generators without compromising on safety, meaning less maintenance and better fuel consumption over the long-term.

“Shipping is waking up to the many advantages of energy storage,” said Juha Koskela, Managing Director of ABB’s marine and ports business. “With the industry starting to use batteries more and more, and fuel cells becoming a viable option, we fully expect the Onboard DC Grid to gain further traction.”

The Onboard DC Grid will integrate two sets of batteries used primarily for spinning reserve and peak shaving. Power peaks during operation can be covered by the battery rather than starting another engine. Again, battery power can act as backup for running generators, reducing the need to run spare generator capacity. In addition to ship efficiency gains, the mode of operation has long-term benefits for ship engines, as it increases efficiency through higher engine load and reduces running hours overall.

PBES Powers World First Electric Aquaculture Support Vessel

Plan B Energy Storage (PBES) today announced a milestone project in the aquaculture industry. The award of the contract for energy storage aboard the electric fish farm vessel Elfrida underscores the ongoing trend toward adoption of green technology in Norway.

“We see this as crucial preparation for a low-carbon future,” says Roger Bekken, Managing Director of Salmar, the vessel’s owner and leading Norwegian aquaculture company. “In keeping with our forward thinking management, and focus on operational efficiency, adding battery technology to our vessels brings cost savings and environmental stewardship together in one package.”

“The PBES battery system onboard Elfrida was one of the first we installed in a working vessel and proves the technology is well suited to fish farming,” said Grant Brown, Vice President, Marketing at PBES. “We envision the entire fleet of Norwegian aquaculture and fishing vessels to either run as hybrid or on full battery propulsion,” he added.

In operation since February 2017, the vessel provides up to 12 knots speed and a full eight-hour shift per charge. Not only does the system eliminate emissions, the fact there is no noise, vibration or diesel fumes provides greater crew comfort, less fatigue and leads to safer working conditions onboard. Best of all, the vessel requires no diesel fuel, dramatically reducing operating costs.

Article written by Stevie Knight, post on MaritimeJournal.com on July 6, 2017

Will the WSFVs of the future run on batteries?

“When you look at the considerations for WFSVs,” said Andrew Eydt of PBES, “Human safety as well as operational concerns are top, and what you want for both is redundancy that’s key.”

However, the high speed transits are fairly long, so the batteries can get another chance at a top up and there’s plenty of time to absorb it without demanding more from the engine capacity.

This is often followed by hours of relatively short transits between towers and extended periods of loitering around the windfarms on standby. “This low-speed loitering presents a very inefficient loads cycle for the engines,” pointed out Mr Eydt. However, while the ‘pushing on’ element of engaging with the towers is a typically low engine load scenario, there are typically sudden changes as the waters surge across the foundations – here, it seems that batteries’ ability to respond in milliseconds might yield important, hitherto unexplored, advantages.

Of course, there’s the unpredictability of the operational pattern which is where hybrids again win: even if the onsite manoeuvring continues for an extended periods, it’s possible to cycle energy storage and engines alternately.

All this makes a very good case for batteries or does it?

What has put many operators off is the physical footprint of the energy solutions and those unpredictable operational matters make WSFV designs particularly weight conscious – and operators wary.

However, battery technology has shaped up a great deal in just a few years, doubling output for the same weight, and also halving in price. What has put many operators off is the physical footprint of the energy solutions and those unpredictable operational matters make WSFV designs particularly weight conscious – and operators wary. However, battery technology has shaped up a great deal in just a few years, doubling output for the same weight, and also halving in price.

Low and zero emissions technology in the maritime sector has gained a lot of attention in recent years, especially in Norway. The increase of electric systems in different applications is considered a key opportunity for Norway to sustain their leadership role in maritime technology development. At the forefront of this development is Erik Ianssen, the man who in 2012 decided to build the world’s first battery powered fishing vessel in Trondheim, Norway.

With the goal of reducing Norway’s diesel consumption by 80 million liters, there is no lack of ambition. Ianssen is convinced that new technology is the key to achieving this goal, and that the city of Trondheim will play an important role in this technology development:

I believe the time is long overdue for a technology transformation in the maritime sector, and Trondheim has a great opportunity to become the national center for this technology development. –Erik Ianssen, Founder and CEO of Selfa Arctic

The European offshore wind farm industry is booming. In 2015, 3,10MW of grid-connected capacity was added, 108% more than in the last 10 years! With this growth comes a need for evolution in service vessels that support the industry. Energy storage technology is a major part of the current evolution of the maritime industry; hybrid and fully electric systems have successfully been installed on a variety of commercial vessels including ferries, offshore support vessels, fish boats, and tugboats. While environmental regulations have helped to create demand for this sustainable technology, the primary market driver is increased safety and reliability of the vessels and a significant decrease in operational and fuel costs.

Rough weather and high waves often characterize the working environment for people and equipment during the installation, and maintenance of offshore wind farms. This means that wind farm services vessels have extraordinary requirements for immediate power, endurance, robustness and safety in order to maintain their operational duties in all weather. A service vessel requires powerful bollard pull capabilities, and in general excellent sea keeping abilities to withstand wind, waves and currents. In these demanding environments, human safety as well as operational expenditures are of key concern, thus service vessels must be built to the highest standards.

Norwegian aquaculture company Salmar Farming has recently launched the world’s first electric aquaculture support vessel. The newly christened Elfrida uses batteries and power electronics from Siemens, which are charged overnight, and provide ample power to run throughout the day.

Norwegian battery technology continues to show its robust nature in the workboat industry, reducing costs through improved efficiency. Best of all, the technology also helps reduce fossil fuel use and greatly improve working conditions.

Please read the following article by Teknisk Ukeblad for more details and a video of the vessel on her trial run.

Norwegian innovation is, once again, leading the world with electric marine solutions.